Lacrima (English Translation)
by Linemie
Summary: This story is about Lacrima, she is eleven years old and receives her Hogwarts acceptance letter, just like Harry Potter. Lacrima gets into the house where she belongs but she isn't like the others. Lacrima is different, she also really likes the other houses. That's how she meets Harry, Ron and Hermione. Together they see the adventure of the Philosopher's Stone.
1. The Letters from No One

Two girls were reading their books in the playground close to their house, they've been sitting there for almost an entire week. The small, blonde girl was sitting on her little plaid blanket and the tall, slim dark-haired girl on the swing. While the dark-haired girl flipped her page, a little boy tripped on a little rock and fell before her feet. With an angry look she looked down at the boy, who immediately jumped up and ran back to his friends. At the other side of the playground the blonde girl stood up and went back home. The other girl closed her book and left too. The next day she went to the playground again-just like all the other days before. Two girls were swinging while laughing but jumped up when they saw the dark-haired girl at the entrance of the playground. The children had already learned to stay away from Lacrima. Before she opened her book. She looked at the corner of the playground where-normally-the blonde girl was reading. She wasn't there yet. Brilliant. Lacrima opened her book and started reading. Every time she flipped her page she looked at the corner for a short moment, but the girl didn't come. When it was noon almost everyone returned home. Lacrima walked to the place where the little girl always sat. There were beautiful flowers in the grass. Under the bushes she saw something. She looked over her shoulder to be sure no one was watching her. With an angry look she looked away from her swing, where someone else was sitting on right now, and put her hand under the bushes. She felt something hard. She put back her hand and looked at a brand new book, it was brand new but looked old. 'Hogwarts, A History' was written on it in gracefully letters. Lacrima looked over her shoulder one last time and took the book home. In her room she opened the book and started reading. It was fascinating, but she didn't understand it. When her mother said dinner was ready, she was so tired she could fall asleep right where she stood. The book, that seemed mysterious, first, was just a collection of the most weirdest words she ever heard. Not even one dictionary knew what a 'Muggle' was, and she couldn't find anything about Apparate. Exhausted she had to listen to the boring stories of ballet of her sister and the long conversation about her new school between her parents. When her father got himself ready for The News and her mother did the dishes, she went upstairs. She ignored Larissa when she asked to play a game. Lacrima looked through her messy room and decided to clean up first. A few minutes later all her books, also 'Hogwarts, A History' lied back in her closet. Tired, her thoughts found the city of dreams. The next morning was like everything was okay again. Lacrima came downstairs late because of last night, but left the house as fast as every morning, to go to the playground. On the way she saw the boy of a few houses away but didn't look at his direction. He always had bed hair, his clothes were way too big and by the way he had an idiot scar on his forehead. She just walked further and sat down again on the swing, like nothing ever happened. The blonde girl wasn't there again. It was like this for a while. But a few days later, when a football hit Lacrima's head and she furious ran out of the playground, two owls were sitting on the sign that said, 'Privet Drive'. Her sister came in giggling when she opened the door and put her arms around the narrow legs of her older sister. With a big smile her father walked into the hall. Larissa ran through his legs back to the living room. While Lacrima put away her jacket and turned off her sneakers, her father said: "There is a letter for you."

He walked in the living room and left a stunned Lacrima.

"A letter?" she thought. Who would send her a letter? She walked to the kitchen, said Hi to her mother and looked at the envelop on the table. It was made of yellowish parchment and was thick and heavy, there was no stamp. Lacrima saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'. Lacrima looked at her mother, who was too busy, took the letter and walked to her room. She sat down and looked at the envelop in her hands. In emerald-green ink was written:

Miss L. Dlandey

Room upon the garden

8 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Without knowing why her eyes slid to the window. A nice garden for number eight. Larissa's name also began with an 'L' but this letter was definitely meant for her. Her hands were trembling while she opened the envelop.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Dlandey,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Your sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Thousand questions raged through Lacrima's head. Hogwarts… she thought she heard the name before. She read the letter again and again and again. She knew she heard 'Hogwarts' before. She jumped up and walked to her closet. She could barely reach the book when she stood on her toes. The big book fell in her arms. 'Hogwarts, A History.' Her thoughts worked rapidly. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That first thing she understood, a school named Hogwarts, it also explained the wax seal with the weapon. But Witchcraft and Wizardry… it took a few minutes and suddenly she knew. Hogwarts was a school for magic. Lacrima always hoped there was something like magic. Could it be real? But there was more, 'We await your owl by no longer than 31 July.' Owl? Was that a kind of magical mailman? No later than 31 July, still more than a week. For a long time she sat there, frozen. She decided to give the letter to her parents.

"Dad," her voice sounded uncertain when she walked into the living room. Thomas looked away of his newspaper and smiled lovely at his daughter. Lacrima gave him the letter. He read it and smiled.

"I don't understand, dad."

Her father looked at her with a grin.

"Well done, girl, well done", he said, "A friend of me received the same letter years ago." He stood up and walked to the phone.

"Tomorrow we'll buy your stuff."

"But dad," she stammered, "I don't understand it."

Her father started laughing.

"What do you mean you don't understand it?" he asked laughing.

Emma came out of the kitchen.

"It's an invitation for a school!" he screamed enthusiastic.

"A school? Let me look at it", her mother said. While she read her cranky look turned into a smile. Thomas and Emma looked at each other, smiling. Lacrima's father didn't look to know he still had the phone in his hand and seemed to forget what he wanted to do.

"Do you still have his number?" he asked Emma.

"Of course", she smiled at her husband and walked to the hall. Lacrima looked at her father, who was obsessed with the letter and walked to her room. She sat down at her bed and tried to think about the last few minutes. She couldn't. After a while staring out of the window and dreaming, her father came in. "Tomorrow we're going to London", he said and he lied the letter back on her desk.


	2. Diagon Alley

The next morning her father woke her when he entered her room loudly. Today they were going to London. She put on a sweater and a pair of jeans, took her bag, put the letter in it and went downstairs. Her mother already made her breakfast.

"Ready to go?" her father asked her.

Outside everything was still quiet. Father and daughter got into the car. When her father finally found a parking lot, they walked through the shopping districts. Lacrima had never been to London before and she didn't understand what people found so awesome about it. Her father seemed to know where he was going because he walked really fast. Lacrima looked down and followed him. In an ordinary street with ordinary people, her father slowed down. For a tiny, grubby-looking pub he stopped.

"The Leaky Cauldron", he said, "He put the address in a letter." Uncertain they walked in the pub. Inside it was very dark and shabby. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman. He was the only one in here. Thomas walked to the bar.

"Er… excuse me", he stammered. The barman looked at him surly.

"Good morning, my daughter here", he pointed at Lacrima with a big smile, "received her letter for Hogwarts. We just don't know what to do now." The barman looked at them angry but the little man in the top hat said friendly: "Hogwarts, you said, it's going to be the best time of your life", and he knocked Lacrima hard on her shoulder. The man walked outside and stopped before a wall. For a moment Lacrima thought the he would walk through it, but he didn't. Instead of that he put his hand in his purple-yellow striped coat and took out a long, crooked stick. He counted bricks in the wall above the dustbin. He tapped the wall three times with the point of the stick. The brick he had touched quivered. A small hole appeared, it grew wider and wider. A second later they were facing an archway on to a cobbled, twisted street.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley", he laughed, "It's the best if you first visit Gringotts", and he pointed at a building far away. Thomas and Lacrima walked through the archway, which shronk instantly back into solid wall. They reached a snowy-white building, which towered over the other little shops. They passed a little man with a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet. He was wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

Two of these little men again bowed and opened the doors. While Thomas walked inside Lacrima stood there and watched the engraved text. For a half hour she stood there like that. Her father was back, frustrated he muttered something: "Okay, so those golden things are Galleons, one Galleon is 493 of those bronze things, Knuts. 29 Knuts are one Sickle, the silver ones. Seventeen Sickles are one Galleon, I don't get this." He passed Lacrima.

"Oh, there you are." He put away a piece of parchment and a pouch with money.

"Good, let's just do this", her father proposed, "What do you all need?"

Lacrima got the letter out of her bag and because she didn't want to read it by herself she gave it to her father and let him read it. Thomas read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags

Set Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A history of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"We'll first get your uniform", Thomas proposed. They left Gringotts behind and walked into the busy shopping district. 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. They walked into the shop and a squat, smiling witch spoke to them.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, "Got the lot here." Madam Malkin stood Lacrima on a stool, slipped a long robe over her head and began to pin it to the right length.

"Lacrima, is it alright if I already go and get the rest of your stuff?" asked Thomas his daughter.

"Yes, of course, I'll probably sit here for a while", answered Lacrima much happier than she actually was. Thomas walked out of the shop and left Lacrima with Madam Malkin.

"That's you done, my dear." When Lacrima was outside she saw her father, who came from Flourish&Blotts with a huge pile of books in his arms. He smiled at Lacrima while she helped her father with the books. Together they bought parchment and quills. They also bought a cauldron and a nice set of scales. While Lacrima waited outside, her father bought her ingredients in the apothecary's. The only thing they still needed was a wand. Lacrima waited for this. She totally didn't know what to expect. When you said wand she thought of a pink stick with a fluffy heart at the end. She had one when she was a kid. The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.' They stepped inside and a tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop. It was filled by thousands of narrow boxes neatly right up to the ceiling. Behind them a soft voice said: "Good afternoon." Thomas jumped and Lacrima looked friendly at the old man. He had wide, pale eyes.

"We are here for a magic wand", Thomas said nervously.

"Of course! Which is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked.

"Er…," Lacrima looked at her father for help.

"She's right-handed", he said.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Lacrima from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said: "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Mr Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"Beechwood and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Just take it and give it a wave."

Lacrima inattentive waved with the stick. The window of the shop splashed apart and Ollivander quickly snatched it out of her hand. He gave her another one.

"Maple and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible."

Again Lacrima gave the stick a wave, more carefully this time, and hit one of the shelves whereby all the boxes fell on the floor. While Ollivander shake his head she gave the wand back.

"Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy."

Also this wand only made the ravage worse. Ollivander again gave her another wand.

"Oak and unicorn hair. Nine inches, flexible."

Lacrima took the wand and felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. She raised the wand while firework shot from the end. Mr Ollivander cheered and her father applauded. Lacrima paid seven Galleons for her wand and Mr Ollivander friendly bowed from his shop. Thomas and Lacrima were sitting on a tea-garden with ice-creams in there hand as the sun slowly disappeared. Lacrima had the day of her life. Before they walked back through the wall of the Leaky Cauldron, Thomas went in one more shop. They had everything what was on her list, would he forget something? She paid for the ice-creams when her father came outside with a black cat in his arms.

"Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad", he quoted the letter and gave Lacrima her cat. She really didn't know what to say.

"Thank you", she stuttered.

"Because I'm proud of you", he added smiling. Lacrima never thought of an option of a pet, she didn't understand what could be so funny about an animal to take care of. But this was the best present she ever had. Father and daughter left Diagon Alley behind and went back home, where Emma was waiting to hear their stories. Lacrima quickly fell into a deep sleep with Nigra on her feet.


End file.
